new tarptent

I have a black lab and she has never punctured any of my floors.

-Tim

nicely done!

Care to post a couple closeups of your tie-out loop attachments and reinforcing patches?

Wow, great looking tarp. I'm planning on making a new one that's fancier (like yours here) than my old one which was just an 8×10 piece of Sil. I'm planning on making a bathtub floor out of Sil seconds that is removable. I have 2 dogs and figure the price for sil seconds is low enough if they puncture it, I'll just make a new one. Can you post a few more specifics about your dimensions here? I'd like to borrow some aspects of your designs. GREAT JOB!!!

looks awesome! I've been thinking about raising the other side on my tarp tent to increase the airflow combating the condensation and give the second person more room. Definitely looks very clean!

Thanks for your complements Jared (and others) your project really was a great inspiration for mine. I think I want to sew a floor very similar to yours, I really like the way you used the mitten clips and shock cord to hold it in place. I want to devise a system of holding the netting snugly in place too (loops and stakes maybe), not really a necessity, just my own desire for a neat and clean set up. You mentioned condensation, is it a big problem for you? I'm eager to hear, as I won't get a chance to test it out until Easter time at the soonest (possible overnite bike trip on Outer Banks if weather allows).

I'll try to get actual dimensions posted as soon as I get a chance for anyone interested…

Christian

it wasn't a huge problem, but i bet if the low side was raised a little i would of had a little better airflow. I did get condensation on the roof, mainly on the low side, the temps were hovering just above freezing, it was raining, i was in the trees (very little airflow to begin with), i had the netting fully closed because there was hords of skeeters hovering at my door. Basically any and all unfavorable conditions for causing condensation were present. I didn't notice till the morning that their was a decent amount of condensation. I only saw one or 2 drips, but my bag was still dry and the floor inside was dry, so i didn't really care too much. I just wiped it down before tearing it down. Also raising the low side would give the second person more room. I've been tossing the idea of raising it since the last hike along with a few other minor things like velcro tabs to attach the floor to the netting. which would keep the floor over the net during the initial setup.

Are you thinking the velcro tabs would be sewn to the bottom of the floor, around the perimeter, so the netting tucks under on its own, or along the sides of the bathtub edges?

I guess factors that cause condensation are so varied it's hard to predict. I've had my pitched high, open ended hammock tarp get condensation on it…can't get much more ventilated than that!

When I have some more time I'll try to get my floor together and figure out a clean way to attach the netting.

Christian

I'm still trying to decide whether to have a sewn-in floor or not for my family tent. One thought is to spray the perimeter netting and groundsheet edges with permethrin fabric treatment. Especially if the two overlap it seems that ought to stop the crawlies. (though not the slithering serpents…)

We mostly have big wood ants. They never really bother me but my wife doesn't care for them in the tent.

I was thinking 6 tabs on the bottom of the floor (4 corners and halfway down the sides) then 6 small strips on the mesh to give a little adjustability to how I can setup the tarp. however I still would like a removable floor so it can be dried seperately on long hikes, so that I can have a ground sheet to sleep under the stars, and the ability to keep the ground sheet and tarp separate in the pack if the tarp is wet with condensation/dew and the floor is dry. but since I have a line of projects lining up I won't get to it for awhile. I have a couple bivys, vests, tarp, stuff sacks, rain jacket… plus i'm swamped with college work…